‘What if I want to leave before that?’
The General smiled at her again, but this time she could clearly discern a threat simmering behind his eyes, a snarling gargoyle peeking out from the shadowy eaves of a gothic cathedral.
‘I’m afraid that leaving before then will simply be … out of the question. I apologise for this, but we are in desperate need of your skills. I strongly suspect, though, that after thirty days you will actually choose to stay on with us. You might not believe this now, but once you have received enlightenment, you may well be swayed to our cause.’
‘Enlightenment?’
She did not like the sound of that. She knew what kind of ‘enlightenment’ these brutes preached and spread, and she certainly did not want any ‘enlightenment’ between her thighs.
‘You said that I wouldn’t be harmed, sir.’
She was painfully aware of how shaky her voice sounded; how blatantly apparent the fright was, oozing from her every pore and tinted, apparently, with neon-coloured dye. The General, however, seemed to be sympathetic to her fears, and he replied in a calm, reassuring tone.
‘Nor will you be. I promise you, the enlightenment of which I speak is a purely mental, emotional and spiritual experience. I regret that at the moment we have to involve ourselves with this violence, but it is a means to an end, and end that someone like you, someone with your ideals could appreciate … Margaret Emily Green of the University of California Davis Medical School, long-term partner of Ting Chung, Professor of Women’s Studies at California State University.’ Suddenly, it appeared as if the man’s eyes had taken on some sort of uncanny glow, like those of a prowling wolf in a dusk forest, or some other nocturnal predator skulking through the dark. He continued speaking, and his voice took on a tone that was low and almost threatening. ‘I’m sure that you miss the four-bedroom home that you two co-own on Redwood Drive. The view over the lake from the deck out back is quite spectacular on these late October afternoons, is it not? I think that around now, Ting is probably taking your five dogs, all rescues from the local pound, out on her usual route through the woods, isn’t she?’
Margaret’s jaw dropped and her blood ran cold at this revelation. A protective and righteous anger, however, flared through her system and erupted magma-like from between her thin lips.
‘How the hell do you know all this?! You … you spying creep! What the, what the heck is going on here?! You sir, you are no gentleman, none whatsoever! I swear to you, if anything happens to Ting or our puppies, anything whatsoever, why I’ll, I’ll—’
The General laughed, and the darkness left him with the suddenness of a flock of startled birds exploding skywards from the treetops.
‘My dear, I do not intend to bring any harm to your or your lover. Others might though, you see. Especially when you choose to stay with us and to fight for our cause. That is why I wanted you to know that I know more details than the Enemy does. Ting and your dogs will be under my protection, as will anyone close to you. Yes, even as far away as California, my agents are active. Some of my best men and women have been sent all across the world to the farthest corners of the Earth. Your lover, your friends and your canine companions will be far safer under the protection of my loyal troops than they would be under the useless “protection” that your government, military and police forces would offer.’ The General paused to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ‘Please, do not be alarmed. I know that these things are far easier for me to say than they are for you to accept, given the current set of circumstances, but I promise you that in thirty days you will be flown out of this jungle should you so desire. Also, I know how badly you miss home, how deeply you wish to go back to your warm king-sized bed to snuggle with Ting and the dogs, to drink your South African cabernet, and feel your favourite fair-trade eighty-percent-cocoa dark chocolate dissolve with delectable bitterness upon your tongue, as black-and-white films from the forties flicker their cinematic magic on the projector screen that you have installed inside your bedroom.’
Margaret’s blood drained from her head and she felt an impending faint beginning to roar its waterfall thunder in her ears.
I’ve never spoken to anyone about these feelings. How could he know this?! He is … He’s reading my mind. He is fucking reading my fucking mind!
The General’s lips curled upward, and it seemed that those eyes of his had grown obscenely wide, bulging like those of some sort of deep-sea cephalopod, and it felt as if they were drilling right into the depths of her skull, plunging their tentacles deep into the centre of her brain. He nodded as these words ran through her mind, and a fresh terror, brought on by this horrifying revelation, gripped her in fever-hot talons, making her knees gummy and causing her to sway unsteadily. Noticing this, one of the teenage soldiers gripped her by her shoulders to prevent her from collapsing.
He knows that I know that he’s reading my mind … I … I…
She felt utterly helpless and completely naked before this man, and a feeling of sheer fright and debilitating panic slashed machete-hacking bites across her back. However, as quickly as he had plunged his sucking proboscis into her brain he withdrew it, and his glowing eyes grew abruptly dull within their deep twin sockets.
‘I am not what you think I am,’ he said softly. ‘I guarantee you this. I
